1. Traditional Agriculture
Pros
Less time
Don’t have to pay as many workers
May get more of one crop
Cons
Typically only grow one crop ( monoculture)
Often uses slash and burn
Deplete soil nutrients (Need to farm somewhere else after a season or two)
Possible pollution from use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers
Need to constantly buy chemicals and seeds
Tomatoes in Cabecera de Cochea, Panama (my first community)

2. Sustainable Agriculture
Pros
Natural, continually replenishing nutrients in the soil
Extends the “life of the land”
Don’t need to buy chemical pesticides and fertilizers
Cons
Takes time and attention to crops to be proactive about problems
Hard to do on a large scale
Training garden using companion planting techniques
(Note: This is just a test plot)

3. Sustainable Agriculture
Common Practices
Aquaculture
Intercropping
Crop rotation
Companion Planting
Trap crops

4. Aquaculture
Farming aquatic species, commonly salmon, shrimp, tilapia, oysters.
Pros:
Protein source can be grown in areas with poor soil (NEED clay soil)
If Sustainable: Integrated systems can be used
Barnacles growing on the nets filter fish waste and can be scraped off and fed to the fish
Fish can be farmed in rice tanks: fish fertilize rice and both can be harvested

5. Aquaculture
Marine or open water aquaculture has its risks if not sustainable.
Cons: >>

6. Crop Rotation
The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.
Applies to plants and animals (cows, etc)
Pros
Nitrogen fixation (beans)
replenish soil nutrients
Different types of crops use
different nutrients
Cons
Need to replant, change layout

7. Intercropping
The practice of growing two or more different crops at the same time on a plot.
ex/ a carbohydrate-rich grain that depletes soil nitrogen and a protein-rich legume that adds nitrogen to the soil
Pro:
Use space more efficiently
Grow a greater variety of crops
No need to rotate crops
Con:
Harder to harvest on a large scale
Corn and beans

8. Companion Planting
The practice of planting specific plant together to help deter insects or to attract insects away from crops of interest
Pros
Plants do the work (“fertilize” each other)
Cons
Need to know what crops grow well together and which ones to avoid
Marigolds = pesticide

9. Trap Crop
A plant that attracts agricultural pests, usually insects, away from nearby crops
Pros:
Insects won’t get to main crop
Cons:
Need to take time and space to plant a crop you won’t harvest

10. Activity: Create an Ad
Create an eye-catching, interesting, and creative ad promoting one of the sustainable agriculture techniques.
Poster should include:
Name of technique
How it’s done
Why it’s beneficial
Poster should NOT just be a list of facts. BE CREATIVE!